Single-reel rotary letterpress

In 1873, the first German rotary letter press for newspaper printing was produced at Maschinenfabrik Augsburg, and was presented at the world trade fair in Vienna. Using the new concept of a rotating plate cylinder, the rotary letter press carried out face and reverse printing on the "endless" paper web fed through the printing unit.

This rotary machine—the 14th printing press sold by Maschinenfabrik Augsburg—was used to print Meyer's Encyclopaedia at the Bibliographisches Institut in Leipzig.